Townsville Crocodiles
Encyclopedia
The Townsville Crocodiles are a professional Australian basketball
team based in Townsville, Queensland
. They compete in the National Basketball League
(NBL). Since being established for the 1993 NBL season, the Crocodiles have enjoyed financial stability and sustained community support, but on-court success has eluded them.
guard Mark Bragg, a Townsville resident, began campaigning to bring an NBL franchise to Townsville in the late 1980s. The franchise adopted the name of Townsville's State League team, becoming the Townsville Suns. The NBL was ready to admit the Suns, along with fellow Queenslanders the Gold Coast Cougars, in 1990, but financial backing for the Suns' venue fell through.
Local government then got behind Bragg's bid, and the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre was completed in time for the Suns' debut in February 1993.
With Bragg at the helm as head coach, the Suns struggled during their debut season, but it only took five games before they recorded their first-ever NBL win, a victory over the Newcastle Falcons. Townsville broke the mould in 1993, becoming the first Australian team to hire an 'import' player from a country other than the United States of America; Lithuania
n player Rimas Kurtinaitis
was a crucial part of the team during their debut season. The Suns finished 4-22 and took the wooden spoon.
Townsville would not reach the playoffs in its first six seasons, although they came perilously close in the 1997 season; needing only one win from their final six games to ensure a historic playoff appearance, the Suns went 0-6 after centre Clarence Tyson suffered a season-ending knee injury in Canberra. After a disappointing 1998 campaign, Mark Bragg was sacked as head coach.
Throughout, Townsville fans stuck by the team, ensuring the club set an Australian record for attendances; the Suns sold out their first 69 games at the "Furnace" (capacity 4,141), a streak that was only broken after the venue was expanded for the 1998 season (new capacity of 5,257).
, who held the "Suns" trademark in Australia. Faced with the prospect of paying Phoenix royalties on merchandise sales, the team changed its name to the Townsville Crocodiles. New head coach Ian Stacker took the reins, and immediately attracted top-name talent like Australian Olympic player Sam Mackinnon, but it would take one more season before Townsville's long-suffering fans saw playoff basketball.
The Crocodiles finished second in the NBL in 1999/2000 with a 22-6 record, meaning they got a first-round bye in the NBL playoffs. But they faced a battle-hardened Perth Wildcats
team in the semi-finals, and were defeated 2-1 in front of their disappointed home fans. Perth would go on to win the championship.
The Crocs again went 22-6 the following year and, under the league's new playoff system, eliminated both the Sydney Kings
and the Victoria Titans. It came down to the grand final series, where the team lost 2 games to 1- 95-92 in the final game- after a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback by the Wollongong Hawks
.
Townsville missed the playoffs in 2002 and the 2003 season looked no better, but the Crocodiles strung together a 16-game winning streak to again finish second on the NBL ladder. (The streak equalled an NBL record.) Townsville lost the opening-round series 2-1 to Wollongong, but by virtue of NBL rules, got a second chance to advance; they were then finally eliminated by the eventual champion Sydney Kings
.
After another disappointing season in 2005–06, Townsville head coach Ian Stacker's contract was not renewed. The Crocodiles again failed to make the playoffs.
Trevor Gleeson was appointed coach and the team improved on their failed 2005-06 season by making the play-offs. They won their first final against one of the newcomers in the Singapore Slingers
but lost their second to the Sydney Kings.
2007–08 saw the Crocs struggle in their first ten games, only winning three matches. Before the season, the team was struggling with injuries with Ben Pepper
(back), Greg Vanderjagt (knee) and Bradley Sheridan
(back). The team ended up losing newly signed import Rosell Ellis
who suffered a freak of an injury when he tore his pectoral muscle during a weight session just after two matches. In those two matches saw Ellis get 27 points and 11 rebounds in both matches. The Crocs then brought in streetball legend Corey 'Homicide' Wiliams
which saw the Crocs turn back into a strong team. With also help from the crocs bench saw them finish the season in fifth place with a record of 17-13. But just like the 2006-07 season, saw the crocs win their first game against another newcomer Gold Coast Blaze
but were once again saw them smashed by the team who finished one win higher than the Crocs in the Perth Wildcats
96-78.
The crocs have now made a push to make it to the top four in the 2008-09 season when they resigned imports Williams and Ellis and also signings Brad Williamson
and Steven Broom from the Brisbane Bullets
and former Boomer Russell Hinder
.
The 2008/09 season saw them struggle to have a full roster with Bradley Sheridan
(ankles), Ben Pepper
(personal reasons) and Steven Broom (shoulder) leaving the club before the season had even began. The local fans were able to rally behind the club to finish 5th. The crocs were unable to make the grand final series as they were knocked out by eventual champions South Dragons
.
Source: www.nbl.com.au
Source: www.crocodiles.com.au
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team based in Townsville, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. They compete in the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
(NBL). Since being established for the 1993 NBL season, the Crocodiles have enjoyed financial stability and sustained community support, but on-court success has eluded them.
History
Former Brisbane BulletsBrisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...
guard Mark Bragg, a Townsville resident, began campaigning to bring an NBL franchise to Townsville in the late 1980s. The franchise adopted the name of Townsville's State League team, becoming the Townsville Suns. The NBL was ready to admit the Suns, along with fellow Queenslanders the Gold Coast Cougars, in 1990, but financial backing for the Suns' venue fell through.
Local government then got behind Bragg's bid, and the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre was completed in time for the Suns' debut in February 1993.
With Bragg at the helm as head coach, the Suns struggled during their debut season, but it only took five games before they recorded their first-ever NBL win, a victory over the Newcastle Falcons. Townsville broke the mould in 1993, becoming the first Australian team to hire an 'import' player from a country other than the United States of America; Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n player Rimas Kurtinaitis
Rimas Kurtinaitis
Rimas Kurtinaitis is a basketball trainer, head coach of the VEF Riga, retired Soviet and Lithuanian basketball player who was a member of the USSR and Lithuanian national basketball teams. He played as a shooting guard and is the only non-NBA player to participate in the NBA All-Star Three Point...
was a crucial part of the team during their debut season. The Suns finished 4-22 and took the wooden spoon.
Townsville would not reach the playoffs in its first six seasons, although they came perilously close in the 1997 season; needing only one win from their final six games to ensure a historic playoff appearance, the Suns went 0-6 after centre Clarence Tyson suffered a season-ending knee injury in Canberra. After a disappointing 1998 campaign, Mark Bragg was sacked as head coach.
Throughout, Townsville fans stuck by the team, ensuring the club set an Australian record for attendances; the Suns sold out their first 69 games at the "Furnace" (capacity 4,141), a streak that was only broken after the venue was expanded for the 1998 season (new capacity of 5,257).
Name change
It was a very different team that took the court in the 1998/99 season. The team had been involved in a dispute with the NBA's Phoenix SunsPhoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
, who held the "Suns" trademark in Australia. Faced with the prospect of paying Phoenix royalties on merchandise sales, the team changed its name to the Townsville Crocodiles. New head coach Ian Stacker took the reins, and immediately attracted top-name talent like Australian Olympic player Sam Mackinnon, but it would take one more season before Townsville's long-suffering fans saw playoff basketball.
The Crocodiles finished second in the NBL in 1999/2000 with a 22-6 record, meaning they got a first-round bye in the NBL playoffs. But they faced a battle-hardened Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
team in the semi-finals, and were defeated 2-1 in front of their disappointed home fans. Perth would go on to win the championship.
The Crocs again went 22-6 the following year and, under the league's new playoff system, eliminated both the Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...
and the Victoria Titans. It came down to the grand final series, where the team lost 2 games to 1- 95-92 in the final game- after a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback by the Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...
.
Townsville missed the playoffs in 2002 and the 2003 season looked no better, but the Crocodiles strung together a 16-game winning streak to again finish second on the NBL ladder. (The streak equalled an NBL record.) Townsville lost the opening-round series 2-1 to Wollongong, but by virtue of NBL rules, got a second chance to advance; they were then finally eliminated by the eventual champion Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...
.
After another disappointing season in 2005–06, Townsville head coach Ian Stacker's contract was not renewed. The Crocodiles again failed to make the playoffs.
Trevor Gleeson was appointed coach and the team improved on their failed 2005-06 season by making the play-offs. They won their first final against one of the newcomers in the Singapore Slingers
Singapore Slingers
The Singapore Slingers are an Asian basketball team that formerly competed in the Australian National Basketball League. They were the first - and so far the only - Asia-based club to compete in the NBL when they joined at the start of the 2006/07 season....
but lost their second to the Sydney Kings.
2007–08 saw the Crocs struggle in their first ten games, only winning three matches. Before the season, the team was struggling with injuries with Ben Pepper
Ben Pepper
Ben Pepper is an Australian basketball player, who played for the twelve seasons in the National Basketball League.-Professional career:...
(back), Greg Vanderjagt (knee) and Bradley Sheridan
Bradley Sheridan
Bradley Sheridan is an Australian basketball player who used to play in the NBL.Sheridan joined in Victoria Titans in 1999 after he travelled to the Australian Institute of Sport. At that time Brian Goorjian was coaching the Titans...
(back). The team ended up losing newly signed import Rosell Ellis
Rosell Ellis
Rosell Ellis in an American basketball player.-Career:Rosell Ellis was a former Washington state player of the year for Rainier Beach High School. His high school coach, Michael Bethea, remembers him as "domineering and overpowering" player...
who suffered a freak of an injury when he tore his pectoral muscle during a weight session just after two matches. In those two matches saw Ellis get 27 points and 11 rebounds in both matches. The Crocs then brought in streetball legend Corey 'Homicide' Wiliams
Corey Williams
Corey Williams is the name of:*Corey Williams , American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions*Corey Williams , retired basketball player...
which saw the Crocs turn back into a strong team. With also help from the crocs bench saw them finish the season in fifth place with a record of 17-13. But just like the 2006-07 season, saw the crocs win their first game against another newcomer Gold Coast Blaze
Gold Coast Blaze
The Gold Coast Blaze is an Australian professional basketball team which competes in the National Basketball League . The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007/08. The club is based on the Gold Coast and joins two other NBL clubs competing from Queensland...
but were once again saw them smashed by the team who finished one win higher than the Crocs in the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
96-78.
The crocs have now made a push to make it to the top four in the 2008-09 season when they resigned imports Williams and Ellis and also signings Brad Williamson
Brad Williamson
Brad Williamson is an Australian basketball player who last played for the Townsville Crocodiles of the National Basketball League. He previously played for the Brisbane Bullets, including in their 2007 championship winning team, prior to the club folding in 2008.-External links:*...
and Steven Broom from the Brisbane Bullets
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...
and former Boomer Russell Hinder
Russell Hinder
Russell Hinder is an Australian basketball player currently playing in the NBL for the Townsville Crocodiles.Russell went to the University of San Francisco before transferring to Augusta State University....
.
The 2008/09 season saw them struggle to have a full roster with Bradley Sheridan
Bradley Sheridan
Bradley Sheridan is an Australian basketball player who used to play in the NBL.Sheridan joined in Victoria Titans in 1999 after he travelled to the Australian Institute of Sport. At that time Brian Goorjian was coaching the Titans...
(ankles), Ben Pepper
Ben Pepper
Ben Pepper is an Australian basketball player, who played for the twelve seasons in the National Basketball League.-Professional career:...
(personal reasons) and Steven Broom (shoulder) leaving the club before the season had even began. The local fans were able to rally behind the club to finish 5th. The crocs were unable to make the grand final series as they were knocked out by eventual champions South Dragons
South Dragons
The South Dragons is a former team in the Australasian National Basketball League . They made their début in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09...
.
Honour roll
| NBL Championships: | 0 |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 1 (2001) |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | Robert Rose (2001), Corey Williams (2010) |
| All-NBL First Team: | Clarence Tyson (1997), Ray Owes (1998), Sam Mackinnon (2000), Robert Rose (2001), Larry Abney (2006), Corey Williams (2010) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Ian Stacker (2000, 2003), Trevor Gleeson (2011) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | Brad Newley (2005) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | Andrew Goodwin (2000) |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | Ben Knight (2000), Brad Newley (2005) |
Source: www.nbl.com.au
Kevin Sugars Medal (Club MVP)
- 1993 Ricky Jones
- 1994 Darryl Johnson
- 1995 Derek Rucker
- 1996 Clarence Tyson
- 1997 Derek Rucker
- 1998 Derek Rucker
- 1999 Robert Rose
- 2000 Robert Rose & Sam Mackinnon
- 2001 Robert Rose
- 2002 Robert Rose
- 2003 Pat Reidy & Wayne TurnerWayne TurnerWayne Keon Turner is an American professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts...
- 2004 Pat Reidy
- 2005 John Rillie
- 2006 Larry Abney
- 2007 John Rillie & Larry Abney
- 2008 John Rillie
- 2009 Corey Williams
- 2010 Corey Williams
- 2011 Luke Schenscher
Source: www.crocodiles.com.au
Current roster
Depth Chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Center (basketball) The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well... |
Jacob Holmes Jacob Holmes Jacob Holmes is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australian National Basketball League. He has been playing for Sturt in the Australian Basketball Association in the NBL off-season. He won the Central ABL's Woollacott Medal for Best &... |
Greg Vanderjagt |  Luke Schenscher Luke Dean Schenscher is an Australian professional basketball player for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australasian National Basketball League.-School/College career:... |
|
| PF Power forward (basketball) Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low... |
Elvin Mims | Ben Allen | Russell Hinder Russell Hinder is an Australian basketball player currently playing in the NBL for the Townsville Crocodiles.Russell went to the University of San Francisco before transferring to Augusta State University.... |
|
| SF Small forward The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall... |
Todd Blanchfield | Owen Odigie | ||
| SG Shooting guard The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team... |
Peter Crawford Peter Crawford (basketball) Peter Crawford is an Australian basketballer currently playing in the National Basketball League. Crawford had played in the WA State Basketball League with the Perry Lakes Hawks.... |
Michael Cedar | Keegan Tudehope | |
| PG Point guard Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that... |
Eddie Gill Eddie Gill Eddie Gill is an American professional basketball player. He is a 1.84 m point guard.Gill went undrafted after a college career at Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University... |
Chris Cedar | Mitch Norton |